RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS


IN THE MATTER OF:      DOCKET NUMBER: BC-2002-03710

            COUNSEL:  NONE

            HEARING DESIRED:  NO


_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

He be  reimbursed  for  the  Family  Servicemembers’  Group  Life  Insurance
(FSGLI) premiums deducted from his pay.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

He was never notified that FSGLI applied to  active  duty  military  members
with an active duty spouse already covered under the  Servicemembers’  Group
Life Insurance (SGLI).

The applicant states that when the program was implemented,  they  were  led
to believe that they were not part of  the  automatic  coverage.   This  was
further justified when the $9.00 fee never showed  up  on  their  Leave  and
Earnings Statements (LESs).  When  they  completed  a  Permanent  Change  of
Station (PCS) to Laughlin AFB, the fee showed up with  retroactive  charges.
Apparently, their losing base had failed to enter the proper  code  to  show
them as joint spouse and exempt from the program.   The  PCS  uncovered  the
mistake.

The applicant’s complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

_________________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF FACTS:

The applicant is currently serving on active duty in the grade of captain.

On 5 June 2001, Public Law 107-14 established the  FSGLI  program  that  was
implemented on 1 November 2001, making it  possible  for  servicemembers  to
provide up to $100,000 coverage for their spouse and  $10,000  coverage  for
their dependent children through the Office of  Servicemembers’  Group  Life
Insurance.  The coverage, by law, was automatic unless the  member  declined
the coverage.

On 7 October 2002, the  applicant  completed  an  SGLV  8286A,  electing  to
decline FSGLI coverage for his spouse.

_________________________________________________________________

AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

AFPC/DPW recommends the application be denied.  ARPC/DPW  states,  in  part,
that the Air Force aggressively campaigned to  make  members  aware  of  the
FSGLI program and their benefits.  Specific instructions were also  provided
to all Air Force bases on the procedures they needed to follow in  order  to
ensure that  military  married  to  other  military  members  were  properly
charged for this new benefit.  The Air Force fully complied with the law  by
providing information in advance of implementations so  that  members  could
make an informed decision.  In addition to comments  about  FSGLI  appearing
in the remarks section of every member’s Leave and Earning  Statement  (LES)
from 30 August 2001 through 15 November 2001, officials at  the  applicant’s
base  also  provided  information  to  all  members  through  their   unit’s
commander’s support staff as an additional step to  educate  the  community.
He has not provided any documentation to indicate that he was not  aware  of
the change and his responsibility to make an election decision.

The AFPC/DPW evaluation, with attachments, is at Exhibit B.

_________________________________________________________________

APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

He  is  not  contesting  the  fact  that  information  regarding  FSGLI  was
contained in the remarks section of his LESs; his issue is  with  not  being
charged the premiums until he owed $99.00.  Unlike other individuals in  his
squadron who immediately began having  premiums  deducted  in  the  fall  of
2001,  his  premiums  were  not  deducted  until  11  months  later.   Thus,
according to his LES, he was not enrolled in FSGLI, since premiums were  not
being deducted from his pay.  If he had seen the $9.00 premium on  his  LES,
he would have  immediately  gone  to  his  finance  office  to  resolve  the
situation.  Furthermore, the advisory opinion’s reference to an  article  in
his base paper is irrelevant since he left the base  in  May  2002  and  the
article was published in September 2002 - after he had departed.

The applicant’s complete response is at Exhibit D.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or
regulations.

2.  The application was timely filed.

3.  Sufficient relevant evidence  has  been  presented  to  demonstrate  the
existence of error or injustice.  After thoroughly  reviewing  the  evidence
of record and noting the applicant’s complete submission, we believe he  may
have been misled regarding his FSGLI eligibility.  In this respect, we  note
that although  the  applicant  was  automatically  enrolled  in  the  FSGLI,
premiums  were  not  initially  deducted  from  his  pay.   Since  his  LESs
indicated that FSGLI premiums were not  being  deducted  from  his  pay,  we
believe it was reasonable for him to believe that he  was  not  enrolled  in
the FSGLI.  He states that had he seen the  FSGLI  premiums  being  deducted
from his pay, he would have taken action to  decline  coverage.   Therefore,
we recommend the applicant’s records be corrected to  the  extent  indicated
below.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT:

The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air  Force  relating
to APPLICANT be corrected to show that on 25 October 2001, he executed  SGLV
- 8286A, Family  Coverage  Election,  declining  coverage  for  his  spouse,
effective 1 November 2001.

_________________________________________________________________

The following members of the Board considered  Docket  Number  BC-2002-03710
in Executive Session on 25 July 2003, under the provisions of AFI 36-2603:

                  Mr. Joseph G. Diamond, Panel Chair
                  Mr. Jackson A. Hauslein, Member
                  Mr. Edward H. Parker, Member

All members voted to correct the records,  as  recommended.   The  following
documentary evidence was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 1 Nov 02, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Letter, AFPC/DPW, dated 14 Feb 03, w/atchs.
    Exhibit C.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 21 Feb 03.




                                   JOSEPH G. DIAMOND
                                   Panel Chair

AFBCMR BC-2002-03710




MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF STAFF

      Having received and considered the recommendation of the Air Force
Board for Correction of Military Records and under the authority of Section
1552, Title 10, United States Code (70A Stat 116), it is directed that:

      The pertinent military records of the Department of the Air Force
relating to APPLICANT, be corrected to show that on 25 October 2001, he
executed SGLV - 8286A, Family Coverage Election, declining coverage for his
spouse, effective 1 November 2001.








JOE G. LINEBERGER

Director

Air Force Review Boards Agency